The Crown Estate’s purchase of Rio Tinto's land portfolio underlined the strength of investor demand for UK farmland, said Graeme Bruce of YoungsRPS

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One of the Rio Tinto farms at Ellington which has been sold to the Crown Estate

The Crown Estate’s purchase of most of Rio Tinto’s 4,500-acre Northumberland agricultural land portfolio this week underlined the strength of investor demand for UK farmland, said Graeme Bruce of selling agents YoungsRPS.

He said: “The Alcan portfolio sale attracted a lot of interest right from its launch in May last year. This came from a mix of local and national investors as well as from overseas.

“It included farmers, some of whom had already sold land on the urban fringe and were looking to reinvest in commercial farmland; non-farmers looking to purchase the portfolio as an investment, aiming to put a management team in place; and institutional investors.”

YoungsRPS is a firm of chartered surveyors and estate agents with offices in Alnwick, Hexham and Sedgefield.

Ken Jones, of the Crown Estate’s rural and coastal portfolio, said: “The Ellington Estate is fantastic addition to our portfolio, particularly attractive because it presents a diverse range of income sources.”